In the summer of 1977, Lowndes County leased 320 acres of land off Motley Road to the Mississippi Sheriffs’ Association to be used first as a home for boys and, later, girls.

Under the terms of the lease, the Sheriffs’ Association was identified as Mississippi Boys and Girls Ranch, Inc., and the lease was good for 99 years at $1 per year.

Since then, the area south and west of that property has become one of the largest, most successful industrial development areas in the state. Meanwhile, after about 20 years of providing dozens of kids a haven of bucolic living, complete with horses, three residences and a large pool and cabana, the Sheriffs Boys Ranch began its steady decline, despite a temporary respite from the Palmer Home, which took over operations in 2005.

Aside from a brief discussion about working out an arrangement with Palmer Home to make some of the land available for industrial development in the mid-2010s, the property had “sort of fallen off the radar,” where the supervisors were concerned, said county attorney Tim Hudson.

That changed on May 17, when Hudson informed the board he had received a $70 check from Palmer Home for rent of the Boys Ranch land and that he had sent it back.

The reason, Hudson said, is simple:

“Pursuant to the lease, they have no claim on the property and it has reverted back to the county,” Hudson said.

County officials’ position is that the original lease was violated in several ways. First, they say, the land was no longer being used for the purpose stated in the lease — as a home for children — and second, that the lease was non-transferable.

Sections III and IV of the 1977 lease reads:

“Lessee agrees to keep said premises in good and tenantable condition and appearance throughout the terms of this lease.

“If and whenever the said demised premises shall be abandoned or shall cease to be used by the Mississippi Sheriffs Boys and Girl Ranch, Inc., in the operation of a boys and girls ranch sponsored by the Mississippi Sheriffs Association, lease shall thereupon, and without notice, terminate and become absolutely null and void.”

State of the property
Supervisors claim the property is now in a serious state of neglect.

From Motley Road, buildings on the property are obscured from view by waist-high grass.

While supervisors speculated Palmer Home may be growing hay in the sprawling grounds, Hudson said the issues, as of about six months ago, go further than grass.

“I visited just before Christmas,” Hudson said. “The grass wasn’t a problem, but there were other problems. One or two of the buildings looked usable. They have a pool out there, but there were weeds and bushes pushing up through the concrete.”

During the May 17 board meeting, Jeff Smith, supervisor for District 4 where the property is located, noted the board had completed a public hearing on a nuisance property a few minutes before Hudson brought up the Boys Ranch property.

“We just told a property owner he had 30 days to clean up that property and (District 5 Supervisor) Leroy Brooks said it needed to be a permanent solution where we’re not dealing with this same thing six months from now,” Smith said. “(The Boys Ranch) is in terrible shape. Why wouldn’t we be required to do the same thing we told this property owner to do just now?”

District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders said the biggest issue was the use of the property.

“The lease says it’s for children, but they haven’t had any children out there in years,” Sanders said.

Hudson pointed out there is also no provision in the lease that allows it to be transferable.

Although Mississippi Sheriffs Boys and Girls Ranch, Inc., is still registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Hudson believes the charity has ceased operations.

“I couldn’t find an annual statement and I think all of the officers are dead,” he said.

Mississippi Sheriffs’ Association director Stacie Rutland said her organization is not affiliated with the nonprofit, and she isn’t sure what its status is.

In 2005, the nonprofit approached Palmer Home about taking over the ranch, according to Palmer Home board member and attorney Dewitt Hicks.

“They had some children they were taking care of out there, but they didn’t have the money or personnel to take care of them,” Hicks said. “So they came to us and asked for Palmer Home to take over. They had a long-term lease, and we were able to work out an agreement to take over the lease.”

Hicks, who is no longer the Palmer Home attorney, said he doesn’t remember if county officials were a part of that discussion, but Hudson and Sanders said they were not.

“I knew Palmer Home was taking over, but I never met with anybody about it,” said Sanders, who was board president at the time.
Sanders said he did meet with Palmer Home “several years ago” about the possibility of developing the portion of the property south of Motley Road that abuts the county’s industrial park property.

“Hicks wanted to sell that lease back to us,” Sanders said. “They made an offer through (Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO) Joe Max Higgins.”

Higgins said he was not impressed.

“Dewitt Hicks wanted $15,000 per acre,” Higgins said. “I wasn’t interested, but I did ask our attorney (Chris Pace of Jackson) to look at their lease to see if they had a valid lease. He said it wasn’t valid. I felt like Dewitt was trying to shake us down. Why would the county pay $15,000 an acre for land it already owned?”

Current supervisors president Trip Hairston also serves as chairman of the Palmer Home Board of Directors and has recused himself from discussions and votes regarding the property.

‘There’s no issue with the lease’
Jack Forbus, of Starkville, has been a member of the Palmer board for 42 years. He said the Palmer Home’s primary interest at the time it took over operations were the six children who were then residing on the property.

“It never was about the property,” he said. “When we took over, it was in pitiful shape. Most of it was uninhabitable. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fixing it up, but it just didn’t work out. We did have some college kids, what we call our transitional children, who lived out there and sometimes our house parents would use it to get away for a while. But it was just too expensive to maintain.”

Drake Bassett, president and CEO of Palmer Home, disputes the county’s claims. He said the property has been maintained by a contracted landscaping company and that the facilities have been in use, although he conceded that residency on the property ended in 2019, when Palmer Home moved all of its residents out of Columbus to its Hernando campus.

Bassett said Palmer Home’s lease remains valid.

“We had talks with the supervisors a couple of years ago about possible plans for that property,” Bassett said. “Everything got put on hold the last couple of years, but we want to continue those discussions. We have several options that we can work together with the county on.”

Bassett did not elaborate on the possible uses for the property, but acknowledged one option might involve third-party use. He also said he has had discussions with the state about using the property for victims of human trafficking.

The lease situation, he said, is not an obstacle.

“They would do well to read their own paperwork,” Bassett said. “Our attorney responded to (Hudson) and we pointed out that we were not in violation of the lease. There’s no issue with the lease.”

Hudson said he had not been able to reach Palmer Home’s attorney, Charlie Winfield of Starkville, who is on vacation.

Bassett said he hopes to meet again with the supervisors to resume discussions “in the next two or three weeks.”

Although the county believes it owns the property, it has no immediate plans for it.

“If you put that 300 acres together with the 700 acres at the industrial park, it would have some value down the road,” Higgins said.

Sanders added that Elm Lake subdivision is on the north boundary of the property and could potentially expand if there was any interest.

While the county doesn’t see an urgent need to clarify its ownership of the land, it does want the matter resolved.

“It would be pretty simple,” Hudson said. “Let the court make a finding.”

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].